LOS ANGELES (Interstat) — Freddie Freeman’s fourth-inning home run broke a tie and propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night at Dodger Stadium before 51,255 fans in a crisp 2 hours, 36 minutes.

The Dodgers improved to 24-14, while the Braves dropped to 26-13 in a matchup of the National League’s top two records. The game was a pitcher’s duel early, with both teams managing only a single run through the first two innings before Los Angeles scratched out two more against Braves ace Chris Sale.

Atlanta struck first in the top of the second. Michael Harris II led off with a sharp line-drive single to right field. After Mauricio Dubón struck out, Dominic Smith doubled to right, sending Harris to third. Austin Riley then grounded a single up the middle off Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan, scoring Harris and putting runners at the corners. But Sheehan retired Mike Yastrzemski on strikes and got Jim Jarvis swinging to end the inning, limiting the damage to one run.

The Dodgers answered in the bottom half. Teoscar Hernández singled to center with one out, and Kyle Tucker followed with a double to right that plated Hernández, knotting the score at 1-1. Sale stranded Tucker at second by inducing a liner from Miguel Rojas and a strikeout of Max Muncy.

From there, both starters settled in. Sale retired seven of the next eight batters he faced after the second, allowing only a hit by pitch to Hernández in the fourth. Sheehan, meanwhile, worked through the Atlanta lineup with efficiency, striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings. He escaped a jam in the fourth when Harris singled and Austin Riley doubled, but Harris was thrown out at the plate on a relay from left fielder Hernández to shortstop Rojas to catcher Will Smith. The call was upheld after a Braves challenge.

The game’s decisive moment came in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and Rojas on second after reaching on a throwing error by shortstop Jim Jarvis, Shohei Ohtani singled to right field, scoring Rojas to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Freeman added insurance in the sixth, launching a solo home run to center field off Sale. It was Freeman’s fourth homer of the season and gave the Dodgers a 3-1 advantage. Sale completed seven innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out seven. He walked none but took his second loss of the season, falling to 6-2.

Sale’s counterpart, Sheehan, exited after 4 2/3 innings with six hits allowed and one earned run, striking out seven. He did not factor in the decision. Alex Vesia, who recorded the final out of the fifth inning, earned the win, improving to 1-0. The Dodgers bullpen then clamped down, with Kyle Hurt, Brock Stewart, Will Klein and Tanner Scott combining for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Scott worked the ninth to earn his third save, striking out one and allowing no hits.

Harris was the offensive star for Atlanta, going 4 for 4 with a run scored, but the Braves could not capitalize on his production. He singled in the second, fourth, sixth and eighth innings, reaching base in every plate appearance. Yet Atlanta stranded nine runners and went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

The Braves’ best chance to rally came in the eighth. Harris led off with a single to right off Klein. Dubón flied out, but Smith walked to put runners at first and second. Riley, who had driven in Atlanta’s only run, struck out swinging, and Yastrzemski grounded out to first to end the threat.

For the Dodgers, Sheehan’s performance was a bounce-back effort after a rough outing May 1 at St. Louis, where he allowed four earned runs over 4 2/3 innings. On Friday, he kept the Braves off balance with his fastball and slider, generating 13 swings and misses. The Braves managed only one extra-base hit off him — Smith’s double in the second — and Sheehan exited having thrown 92 pitches.

The game was the first of a three-game series between the two division leaders. Atlanta had dropped its previous contest, a 3-1 loss at Seattle on Wednesday, while Los Angeles came in off a 12-2 rout of Houston the same day.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 5. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Dodgers a 61.70 percent probability to win. Atlanta had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of four runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.